THE
TEXAS SILHOUETTE

At one time
it was said that two of the most recognized shapes in the world were the old 6.5
oz. Coke bottles and the Texas outline.

Vacant
building outside of Rowena, Texas Runnels County

TE Photo, August
2001

Texas
is shaped on one side by the Gulf of Mexico, on three sides by rivers and the
four remaining sides are shaped by straight-arrow surveyors. The result is a highly
irregular, but pleasing, shape.

Other than Florida and Oklahoma (two
other states with panhandles) state outlines just don't measure up to Texas. Of
course there are "mutant" states like two-piece Michigan or Maryland with it's
three-mile narrowness; but Texas is the only state we know of whose shape is frequently
incorporated into tombstone design. Try doing that with Hawaii.

Of course,
Texas wouldn't be in the (physical) shape it's in if long-ago legislators hadn't
cut loose parts of what is now Colorado and Oklahoma. For once, Texas legislators
knew what they were doing.

Texans truly love the outline of Texas - and
so do Arkansans, Oklahomans, New Mexicans, Old Mexicans, and Louisianans. They
all sleep better knowing that Texas is content and isn't about to take any (more)
of their territory.

Known
for it's informality, Texas has graciously allowed sign painters some artistic
license when it comes to painting representations of the state. While there are
currently no silhouette responsibility laws; there are clearly a lot of signs
that could be considered a crime against the state.

In this corner of
Texas Escapes we feature some of the more, let us say, "creative" representations
of the Texas silhouette.

Silhouette
in green. Wise County

TE Photo, February, 2004

Like children's
drawings, state outlines can be amusing and entertaining. While the artists probably
wanted to do a better job, hand and eye coordination is a rare gift.

Some signs were drawn from reputable geography books, while others seem to have
been drawn from a distant fifth-grade memory. It's safe to say they were all drawn
with love - and of course, that's what counts.